Abutilon Pests

Abutilon Pests

Fri Feb 04, 2011 6:48 pm

Hello and let me say how nice it is to find a site such as this. Wish I had known about it when I was trying to get information on how to prune smoke trees last week.

Anyway, I have a really weird problem. I live in San Francisco and have grown abutilons for many, many years. Never have I had this happen before: for the past two days, something has stripped bare the leaves on two of our mature abutilons. We've had white fly on occasion and also scale, but never this problem. It's kind of sad.

Coinciding with this, and this is a first also, something has eaten all the spring bulbs out of two big planter boxes. It's hard to believe because my husband had nailed down plastic netting over the boxes with approximately 3/8" holes. How does anything get a paw through that.

Obviously, in the heart of the City, we don't have deer. We do have rodents -- rats, skunks, opposum. We have rarely seen a squirell run through the yard.

Does anyone have a clue? This is my first post, I hope it's not too long!?!

I'm not certain what could have gotten to your bulbs. I've had bulbs rot in the ground, and I've also had critters eat them. None of my raccoons ever ate them. They just dug them up ... usually right after I planted them ... and then played with them. Is the surface of the ground disturbed in the planter boxes? If not, I would think they more than likely just rotted. I've never had a vole or mouse enter through the drainage holes in any of my containers and eat the plants. What are your planter boxes made of? It's possible that a vole or mouse or rat squeezed under the net covering to get at the bulbs. They can fit through a space about 1" in diameter, sometimes smaller. If they did, though, they would have had to dig up the bulbs, and you would see the disturbed soil.

There are deer in the city where I live. I haven't seen them right in my yard, but I've seen them a block away. It's only a matter of time, I think. Rabbits will strip leaves from plants. Rats will eat some leaves, but I'd be surprised to hear of them completely stripping a plant.

"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" - Douglas Adams

Abutilon Pests

Thanks for your note, Kisal. The bulbs were not in the ground long enough to rot, but, yes, mice could have squeezed under the mesh to eat the bulbs.

We're at wit's end because our timber bamboo is now being attacked. Whatever it is runs up and down the stalks gnawing as it goes and toppling the trees.

There is such a thing as Bamboo rats which eat bamboo, but I thought they were only in Asia.

I think I'll try to contact UC for additional information. Thanks so much.

Live in Noe Valley, San Francisco, which is in a microclimate -- very moderate temperatures; when everyone in the city is socked in with fog, we usually have clear skies. Husband and I are both retired. Have a gardener but putzed around ourselves.

I think contacting the U is a good idea. You might also contact your county's vector control department. They'd be the people responsible for controlling vermin, such as rats, in the city. They would know what kind of pests are out there doing damage.

Best of luck in your quest, and please share with us what you learn.

I hope to see more posts from you.

"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" - Douglas Adams